Delhi Services Bill Passed by Rajya Sabha; 102 Votes Against, 131 In Favor

GG News Bureau

New Delhi, 8th Aug. With 131 votes in favor and 102 against, the Rajya Sabha on Monday passed the government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which replaces the ordinance on transfers and postings of senior officers in the Delhi government.

In response to the Rajya Sabha debate on the contentious bill, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that the bill does not contravene the Supreme Court’s decision. The bill, according to Shah, aims for effective, corruption-free governance in the national capital. He further assured the members that not a single provision changes the status quo that has existed since the Congress regime.

The minister justified the ordinance, claiming that the AAP-led Delhi government transferred vigilance employees as liquor scam files were with them.

“So much haste was shown concerning the vigilance department by the Delhi government because it had files related to ‘excise policy scam’ and ‘sheesh-mahal’,” he said.

Taking a shot at the Congress for allying with the Aam Aadmi Party, Shah stated that AAP president Arvind Kejriwal will leave the opposition bloc INDIA once the Delhi services bill is passed. He stated that the bill was not introduced to impose “Emergency” or to take away people’s liberties.

“Earlier, there were no fights over transfer postings in Delhi, no CMs had any problems…In 2015, a govt came up after an ‘Andolan’…Some people said that the Centre wants to take power into its hands. The Centre doesn’t need to do so as the people of India have given us the power and the right,” Shah said.

Earlier, AAP MP Raghav Chadha called the bill a “political fraud, constitutional sin, and administrative stumbling block.” Chadha stated that the BJP has been pushing for statehood for nearly 40 years and promised it in its election manifesto. According to the AAP leader, the BJP has squandered 40 years of hard work by its leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishan Advani to make Delhi a full state.

Taking a swipe at Union home minister Amit Shah invoking first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to defend the bill, Chadha stated the BJP leader should become ‘Adavanivadi’ and not ‘Nehruvadi’.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a Congress member, criticized the bill, calling it “retrogressive” and “completely unconstitutional.”

He also called it a “frontal assault on the people of Delhi” and a “violation of federalism.”

Earlier, when the opposition’s motion to refer the contentious bill to a select committee was debated in the House, a spectacle flared up. Some MPs, notably BJD MP Sasmit Patra and BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi, said their names were improperly included in the motion introduced by AAP MP Raghav Chadha.

Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh said, an inquiry into the allegations of several Rajya Sabha MPs about their names being included without their agreement will be conducted.

The Lok Sabha approved the bill last week.